


A Year In Bath

by glasscannon



Category: Poldark (TV 2015), Poldark - All Media Types
Genre: 2.07, AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Eloping, F/M, elopement
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-09
Updated: 2016-11-09
Packaged: 2018-08-29 23:17:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8509369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glasscannon/pseuds/glasscannon
Summary: They arrived in Bath by the overnight coach, their belongings whittled down to three trunks, the clothes on their backs, and poor long-suffering Horace.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Carolight Fic Week on Tumblr, hosted by fuckyeahdwightcaroline, mostly before I'd seen the finale. I have not yet read the books, so this is based entirely on the 2015 TV version of Poldark.
> 
> All the thank yous and love to my beta jezunya, who made it a point to start getting caught up on Poldark just so they could beta for me this week. ♥

They arrived in Bath by the overnight coach, their belongings whittled down to three trunks, the clothes on their backs, and poor long-suffering Horace. By ten in the morning, they were married. By eleven they had obtained lodgings, a cozy and plush suite of rooms in a quiet house in a well-to-do area of town, nothing too ostentatious nor too out of the way.

When they were alone with their luggage and Horace, Caroline removed her hat and sank down onto the divan with a sigh. She looked up at Dwight from beneath her lashes and smiled mischievously. “I have,” she announced, “a plan. Do you trust me, husband?”

It was the first time either of them had spoken the word, and they sobered slightly, gazing at each other, until Dwight took her hand and kissed her knuckles. “Most assuredly, my dear.”

She laced her fingers through his as he lowered their hands, but remained seated, watching him as she spoke. “We shall live here in Bath for a year, and then I shall write to my uncle. We will live openly, and behave as though our marriage has my uncle’s blessing; he will not denounce us publicly, we need merely wait out his temper and his pride – a simple thing, knowing him as I do.”

“And the circumstances of our wedding? Surely that will raise a few suspicions,” Dwight said, sitting beside her, their hands still linked.

“We shall say we married a few days before Christmas, simply, in deference to the conditions of the common folk of Cornwall, at Killewarren with my uncle in attendance, of course. The man who recently married us is a dear friend of my uncle’s, he will not contradict the story once I put it out into society.”

“Ah, so we _will_ be moving in society circles?”

“Of course, my dearest,” she smiled at him. “I cannot resist showing you off at least a little, and in service of the greater plan, I assure you. As I said, we shall live here in Bath for a year, at least. You shall practice medicine, perhaps open an office, even, and we will carefully select our society engagements: the sober life of a married couple, no house parties. And once a week, you shall offer your services to any in need, for which you shall ask no payment. In that way, we shall be able to save a little for us to live on, while also beginning to build for ourselves a reputation of charitable works, so it shall not seem so odd when in future we decide to live and work with the common people of Cornwall.” By the end of her speech, she was gazing at him almost shyly, a quirk to her mouth giving away her self-satisfied pleasure. “What say you, husband? Is this plan agreeable?”

“May we make small adjustments to it as we go?” he asked, mostly to distract himself from kissing her.

“Of course,” she beamed at him. “I look forward to your ongoing input, dear husband.”

“And I yours, my lovely wife,” he replied, smiling and kissing her knuckles again.

Her breath caught and she stared at him, her lower lip between her teeth for a moment. “We’ve really done this, haven’t we? I am your wife.”

Dwight ran a reassuring thumb across the back of her hand. “Indeed you are. Any regrets?”

She rolled her eyes delicately. “Hardly. Mrs Caroline Enys. Hm.”

“How does it suit?”

“Quite well, I think,” she replied, cutting her gaze back to him with a coy smile, “though I shall need to practice my signature. We must try to behave as though we are married ten days, and forget, if we can, that this is our wedding day. We should dine out tonight if at all possible, be _seen_.”

“Tonight?” Dwight asked, barely containing a groan of protest. “Must we?”

She grinned, that rare genuine smile that produced lines of joy upon her face, carefree and unschooled. “Do not fret so, my love, for dinner only, I promise you. Ten days married is still newly-wed, I dare say; people will forgive us if we are a touch reclusive.” She glanced down at their joined hands and then back up into his pale blue gaze. “So what do you think, Dwight? Do you approve of my plan?”

“I must confess, I do. You paint quite the charming portrait of our life here.”

“And I must confess, I have spent a good deal of time thinking on it, and so it pleases me to hear you say so.” At his raised eyebrow, she continued: “It’s been more than two years since you removed that fishbone from my throat, I have had plenty of time to ponder all the permutations, consider my uncle’s reactions and our prospects in Bath and elsewhere.”

“Considered for that long, really?” he asked, smiling and looking perhaps a bit too sure of himself.

“And was that or was that not a certain fishbone I spied in your waistcoat pocket earlier?” she asked in response, eyebrow arched. “So we love each other, that much is obvious. And now that we’re married, I see no point in being shy about it,” she added, flashing that brilliant unschooled smile again. “Certainly not in private.”

“In that, my dear, you make an excellent point,” he said, and gave up on trying not to kiss her.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm marking this as complete for now, but I actually have a few other ideas for this AU. If you'd like to see more in this world, drop me a comment and let me know! Thanks for reading!


End file.
